Oh yeah…2010 is THIS Winter

All right, confession time. I keep thinking (because this is 2009) that the Vancouver Olympics are next year. Which I know they are, but I meant like, a year away. Which I know would be 2011, but, you know…well anyway. And then yesterday it hit me…February 2010 is, like, this winter. You know: four months away. (Pesky how that year change happens…) So the Vancouver Olympics are coming up soon, as in: this winter. Wow. Cool!

And confession number two: I’ve always liked the Winter Olympic Games better than the Summer Games. Maybe this comes from being a dyed-in-the-wool resident of the Great White North, or maybe it’s because I always liked figure skating more than gymnastics as a kid. Whatever the cause, I usually let the Summer Games slide by relatively unnoticed, paying attention to the news coverage but not really watching any events. Believe it or not; I didn’t even watch the opening or closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. But part of that was out of loyalty to Toronto, my original hometown, which should, by rights, have won those games, if it wasn’t for the cowardice and perfidy of the bribe-taking Olympic Committee. But, whatever.

The point is; I do prefer the Winter Games. I mean, sure, there’s still all kinds of BS involved: remember the French figure skating judge? Or like the fact that women are not allowed to compete in ski jumping (and for a totally bogus reason) and what the heck is Biathlon for, anyway?

But here’s the facts: I love to ski. And skate. And I’ve even taken two runs down the Olympic track at Calgary’s Canada Olympic Park on a skeleton (yes, that’s head-first, on your stomach on a tiny sled; and for the record, I clocked in at over 75km/h). To me, winter sports rock. Summer sports are all, well, sweaty, you know? So I’m personally all about the Winter Games. And can we talk about the mascots? How incredibly cute are they?

I mean really: what’s not to love about these cute little dudes, with their roots in British Columbian natural history, as well as Native folklore and myth. And cuteness…definitely rooted in cuteness. I think Quatchi is my personal favourite, but my daughters are partial to Miga, particularly my snowboarding nearly nine year-old (Miga is a snowboarder, too). Now, my big girl’s birthday is coming up in October, and I’ve ordered her this t-shirt as a little gift:

There’s some cute Olympic apparel available on the VANOC webstore, but HBC is the official outfitter for Team Canada at the 2010 games, so you can buy lots of this cool swag (mascots included) at The Bay and Zellers, too.

And, just for some added excitement, I found out this morning about a cool contest HBC is running for the chance to win some items from the HBC apparel collection along with a trip for two to the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games, $500 spending money, and much more! Pretty cool!

Here’s how to enter:

Go to www.whatareyoumadeof.ca and upload a video, photo or story about what makes you Canadian. Visitors to the website can vote on the entries and the top 30 will make it to the final round where a panel of judges will select one winner. Submission and voting deadline is November 30, 2009.
 
So if you’re like me and those cold cool Olympic Games are where it’s at, why not enter the contest? This year we’re hosting, and it looks like a lot of our athletes are poised to do really well, too. I know this is one Olympic Games I’ll definitely be tuning in to (wearing my Quatchi t-shirt)!